Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin. The theory of evolution rocks!

Today; two hundred years ago Charles Robert Darwin, the English naturalist, was born and human society became all the richer for this fact.

Do companies really have the corporate will to green their IT?

In Computer World this week:

Should CIOs get ready to add "energy czar" to their list of job roles?

McKinsey & Co., a management think tank, seems to believe as much. In a study presented last year at the Uptime Institute's Green Enterprise Computing Symposium, McKinsey called on companies to move accountability for facilities operations to the CIO and to appoint an internal energy czar to better focus on the true cost of data center ownership, which includes both equipment and facilities expenses------

With no takers willing to publicly sign on to McKinsey's challenge, Computerworld sought out companies -- including Google and Yahoo -- that are leading the charge to take control of data center energy costs. The conclusion: Corporate America is indeed thinking seriously about data center energy costs, but many companies aren't yet ready to commit to changes as sweeping as what McKinsey proposes.

Why does McKinsey advocate such a radical shift in responsibilities? Forrest points out several reasons behind the recommendation. First, data centers are usually the biggest users of energy in a corporation. Second, IT would be charged with developing and implementing the technology -- such as dashboards -- required to measure and monitor energy efficiency anyway.

And third, it's important that companies designate someone who can be held accountable for total data center costs and energy efficiency, he notes. Even in companies that have set up a "green champion," if that person isn't given the power and authority to deliver results, "it makes the job very limited," says Forrest. The company may trumpet a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent a year, for example, "but there's no means of tying that to any real executive action."

Microsoft offers free toll to calculate business carbon footprint.

Will they tar 'n' feather Danny in Corryong?

Corryong February 2009 from Flickr

Catch the Fire Ministries' Danny Nailah went into the religious twilight zone last Tuesday when he tried to say that this month's Victorian bushfires were God's punishment for abortion law reform.

Bet the poor sod's a bit worried now.

Next Saturday he's due in Corryong (which is in a northern part of the bushfire belt) for a holy spirit revival meeting.

He'll be lucky if he's not cursed all the way out of town!

Copy of Corryong revival leaflet - complete with catchy flame graphics.

"The Age" gets taken for a ride and creates serious michief along the way

On Saturday 7 February 2009 when Victoria was beginning to reel under the impact of the worst natural disaster in modern Australian history, The Age in Melbourne ran an article which baldly stated: AUSTRALIA has been singled out as a target for "forest jihad" by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfires as a weapon of terror.

The group calling for this jihad is supposedly currently active and going by the name Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network and it allegedly posts on the Internet, presumably on a forum website hosted out of Malaysia and written in three or possibly four languages.

The earliest mention of this supposed forest fire jihad that I can find comes from WorldNetDaily in 2003, when it also mentioned: "Australian security authorities are aware of reports that al-Qaida has considered starting bushfires in the U.S. as a form of terrorist attack," said a spokeswoman Australian Attorney General Daryl Williams. "Arson attacks are just one of a wide range of scenarios which have been considered as part of our investigations into al-Qaida's ability to conduct attacks in Australia."

Specific mention of a jihad website occurred in April 2004 when it was reported that: Meanwhile, there is evidence terrorism was behind other wildfires in Europe and Australia last summer.

According to the wingnuts, so far this 'group' appears to be responsible for forest fires in France, Greece, Italy, Australia and the U.S.

It supposedly has a six-point plan which included: setting of fires in the forests – "especially those that provide the American market with the raw materials for the wood and paper and byproducts industries";

The entire forest fire jihad plot was rehashed in January 2008 when WorldTribune ran with it again .

Now there are only 18 terrorist groups officially listed on the Australian Attorney-General's departmental website and none of these are this supposed extremist group.

Indeed if you look for this group on the world wide web it is has a remarkably low profile.
So low in fact that it is only ever mentioned by secondary sources.
It seems to be nothing more than a blustering website, which is sometimes not even online.
A situation which should have alerted The Age reporter to the fact that he might have been building with straw and, that this Internet forum was unlikely to be a group nor a credible threat.

The supposed threat reads more like a post 9/11 urban myth and The Age looks as though it was attempting a potentially divisive, hurtful and downright dangerous beat up.

Snapshot is of The Age article as displayed 10.02.09

Turnbull according to Turnbull [revisited]

As the Federal Leader of the Opposition struggles for political relevancy and dodges the metaphorical rotten fruit thrown his way by irate voters, I thought I might look back on Malcolm Turnbull's political career according to his own website.

In December 2004 Malcolm informed us that he had won the seat of Wentworth, posted his maiden speech and took the fight against a crematorium at Waverley Cemetery to Parliament among other things.

By November 2005 he was defending Israel, restating the case for tax reform, talking about sustainable cities, sending out news letters and helping his dogs launch a website during Pet Week.

Then in December 2006 Turnbull was found posting a National Press Club speech on the drought, writing about saving the Murray-Darling and water scarcity. His dogs have turned into hot canine bloggers.

When December 2007 rolled around the MP for Wentworth (still styling himself Minister for the Environment and Water Resources despite the Coalition election defeat) was firmly into Green House conferencing, communicating by Face Book, YouTube, MySpace and saving whales.

Now in Februaury 2009 one has to dodge a splash screen to enter Malcolm's website, he's added Twitter to his online communicating, he has launched another website Jobs for Australia, he proudly informs us all that he opposes the Rudd Government's second stimulus package and.............. his dogs still blog.

Waverley Cemetery doesn't have a crematorium to this day because council and the electorate were against the idea rather than because the Member for Wentworth opposed the idea.
The Murray-Darling isn't saved from environmental disaster and water is still scarce in the southern half of the continent.

These days Malcolm continues to defend Israel, talk about green house emissions, mention taxes, keep fairly silent on the plight of whales and...............his dogs still blog.

Not much to show for those years in government is it?

Turnbull cartoon from The Brisbane Times

Religious fruitcake's attempt at 15 minutes of fame

Abortion laws to blame for bush fires?

The leader of Catch the Fire Ministries (CTFM), Pastor Danny Nalliah, has made a very bold bid to secure the title of Australian Fruitcake of the Year. Oops, correction, make that Fruitcake of the Century.

Nalliah said he was not surprised by the bush fires because he had a dream last October relating to consequences of the abortion laws passed in Victoria.

In a media release, in which he said "the bushfires are a result of the incendiary abortion laws which decimate life in the womb", Nalliah called upon "all Australian Bible-believing God-fearing Christians to repent and call upon the Lord Jesus Christ for His mercy and protection over Australia once again.

“Yesterday (Monday 9th February 2009), the front page of the Herald Sun newspaper reported “The Darkest hour for Victoria”. A few months ago the news media should have reported “The darkest hour for the unborn” but unfortunately the “Decriminalization of Abortion bill” went through parliament and was passed, thus making many people call Victoria ‘the baby killing state of Australia,’” Mr Nalliah said.

Breath-taking aint it!

Previously, in a biography posted on CTFM's website, Nalliah claimed that he has seen "many blind, deaf, dump [sic], crippled people healed by the power of God ... (and) a dead girl who came back to life, when he prayed for her."

Nalliah has made himself available for interviews. He can be contacted on 03 9794 8211. Readers might care to give the Pastor a call and see what other ratbag ideas he has dreamt up.

Acknowledgement: The image above was sourced from http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/author.asp?id=4177

Boy the Wonder Cat has moved to........Antarctica

I had to try it. Yes, I entered Google Latitude to see what it was all about.
Not being a mobile phone aficionado and having friends with spotty records when it comes to recharging theirs, I could see no reason why I should want to play with this new Google feature.

Then I had a thought. I could use Google to effect a digital house move for Boy the Wonder Cat.

He is now camped down in Antarctica for all the world to see, protesting against Japanese whaling in southern waters.

He is also patiently waiting for Google to update Latitude mapping so that he can move into the comfort of the Australian research station.

Care to join this intrepid little moggie?


Liberated penguins from Asymptotia

Snap! on those annoying spam emails

Snapsam, over at the Stuft blog, has the answer to those fake missing children emails and similar spam which often litter our inboxes.
She directs everyone on the latest email cc list to Snopes.

Sam also composed her own please help email which could be sent in retaliation:

I really need your help….

I lost the keys to my house. They've been missing now for two weeks. Maybe if we pass this email on to everyone we can work together to find them. Even if it goes overseas, who knows they may have been "keynapped" and taken as far away as Canada, India or Mesotaplioma.

With God on our side, they will be found. I'm begging you please forward this to everyone in your address book if you do, your good deed will be payed back to you ten fold.

I don't know how it works it just does. Trust me. Forward this email to all your friends and family and I guarantee they will return the favour by forwarding you all their crap email for the rest of your natural life.

If you forward to >5 people, you will feel like you have lots of friends as they start forwarding you all their spam emails.

Forward to >10 people and your love life will be enhanced by offers of p*nis enlargement therapy.

Forward to >20 people and I will personally come over to your house drink all your liquor and tear your computer out of the wall so you can never forward this crap to anyone ever again.

Malcolm's Minties Moment

The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP, Leader of the Opposition, showing that no matter how important you may believe yourself to be there is always someone to prick the bubble by pointing out that tiny flaw in the argument:

KERRY O'BRIEN: It's potentially misleading, isn't it Mr Turnbull, to suggest that Kevin Rudd is racking up $200 billion of debt, because as you know, right at this moment $115 billion of that debt is debt that comes from a collapse in tax revenue because of the state of the economy.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well Kerry, whatever the causes of the debt -

KERRY O'BRIEN: But he is not wracking it up, is he? He hasn't racked up that $115 billion of lost tax revenue.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Kerry, everybody has to manage their own affairs.

KERRY O'BRIEN: But isn't that right? Just before you go on, isn't that right?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: No, Kerry, Kerry, it is not right. If this country, if we end up with, - look, the Prime Minister brought into Parliament today a bill which would authorise the Government to borrow up to $200 billion. Right. He wants to raise Australia's credit card limit to $200 billion.

KERRY O'BRIEN: $115 billion of that money is the money that has been lost and is being lost in tax revenue because of the state of the global economy. Is that not correct?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well Kerry, yes, tax revenues are down. But what you saying? That I'm being tough on Kevin because it's not really his fault? Is that what you are saying? Poor Kevin!

KERRY O'BRIEN: I am suggesting that you might be wrong to say that he is personally responsible for the loss of that tax revenue.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well Kerry, let me tell you, if you're the Prime Minister of Australia you're responsible for the finances of Australia.

(ABC TV 7.30 Report 4 February 2009)

Andrew Bolt goes too far......

On Aunty's Australian Story last night Herald Sun journalist Andrew Bolt had the hide to complain that science was sensationalising climate change.
The day before he was on his blog complaining that Senator Bob Brown was preaching green politics over the Victorian bushfire fatalities.
This is the same journo who callously wrote that the twenty to thirty sudden unexpected deaths (some probably hastened by the extreme heat wave conditions in the south of Australia) couldn't have died from the 40C plus temps because everyone knows that "Cold, not heat, is what really kills people" and "Those who died last week were in less danger from global warming than from the deadly incompetence of green governments trying to "stop" it".
Who's using sensationalism and politics?
Why Andy is of course - with a thick covering of hypocrisy on top.
No wonder the Herald Sun's circulation figures have been on the decline, advertising revenue down and its parent company is looking a bit sick.

Australian Law Reform Commission does online forum and phone-in on secrecy laws, 11-12 February 2009

Media Release 9 February 2009:

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) today announced a national two day phone-in and new online discussion forum as part of its commitment to engaging in widespread community consultation on reform of Commonwealth secrecy laws. 

Anyone who has ever been involved in handling Commonwealth information will have the chance to speak out about their personal experiences and concerns in a national secrecy phone-in on Wednesday 11 February and Thursday 12 February. The ALRC is also launching a new consultation vehicle through its Talking Secrecy online forum.

ALRC President, Professor David Weisbrot, said "Consultation is part of the ALRC's DNA and we are determined to use new technologies to expand that process. The online forum and national phone-in together comprise the next critical steps in the ALRC's consultation process following the recent release of the Issues Paper, Review of Secrecy Laws (IP 34, 2008). This paper seeks feedback about how to balance the need to maintain an open and transparent government, while still protecting some Commonwealth documents and information—for the purposes of national security, for example.

"The ALRC now has mapped over 500 secrecy provisions spread across 173 pieces of legislation and these—associated with a myriad of administrative, civil and criminal penalties—present a complex and confusing scenario of options for individuals handling Commonwealth information.

"Some secrecy provisions—normally pertaining to defence and security—regulate the activities of anyone, including the media, who comes into possession of Commonwealth documents or information, imposing obligations on them. If the individual handles the information incorrectly, he or she may face heavy penalties, including jail."

Commissioner-in-charge of the Secrecy Inquiry, Professor Rosalind Croucher, said that the phone-in will enable individuals to speak about their personal experiences with complete anonymity and will assist in shaping the development of proposals, and ultimately recommendations, for workable laws and practices.

"To facilitate more public discussion about secrecy laws, the ALRC's Talking Secrecy online forum will encourage interactive comments and debate that will run the course of the Inquiry. This is a first for the ALRC.

"The ALRC would like to hear people's views about a range of questions such as: do secrecy laws stop you from doing your job; what information, if any, should be kept secret; how easy is it to comply with secrecy laws; when should you be allowed to disclose Commonwealth information; and have you or someone you know been in trouble for breaching a secrecy law and, if so, what happened?"

To participate in the secrecy phone-in call 1800 760 291 between 8:00am and 8:00pm (EST) on Wednesday 11 February and Thursday 12 February 2009 (calls are free from landlines but calls from mobiles will incur a charge).

The Talking Secrecy online forum can be accessed at http://talk.alrc.gov.au.

More information about the Review of Secrecy Laws can be found in the Inquiries section of this website.

NT Intervention: a case to answer

On or about 24 January 2009 the United Nations received a 64-page submission requesting urgent action be taken, under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination, against the Commonwealth of Australia and with regard to the Howard-Rudd NT Intervention.

14. This Request for Urgent Action arises from the flagrant breach by Australia of its obligations under the Race Convention. While it is expected that the Australian Government may attempt to modify some measures of the Northern Territory Intervention, the Authors consider that it should remain a matter of serious concern to the international community that legislation overriding the Race Convention can be implemented by the State party with impunity. That is particularly the case when it concerns the fundamental human rights of Aboriginal people. .................
46. Over 70 percent of the Aboriginal people who live in the Northern Territory live on Aboriginal titled land within Prescribed Areas.40 Within those Prescribed Areas, it is estimated that approximately 87 percent of the people living in those areas are Aboriginal Australians.41............
47. The Northern Territory Intervention measures directly affect approximately 45,500 men,
women and children.42
As a result, it is apparent that the Northern Territory Intervention was targeted directly at, and has specifically impacted on, Aboriginal people.

Full submission document is at the National Indigenous Times.

NSW North Coast electorates big winners in second stimulus package

The North Coast electorates of Page, Cowper, Lyne and possibly Richmond are big winners when it comes to the number of families eligible for the Rudd Government's $950 cash bonus, according to Possum Comitatus.

Click on image to enlarge

Those seats in the top right corner are the ones that are expected to receive the greatest overall relative benefit from the stimulus while the ones in the bottom left are expected to receive the least relative benefit.
Also remember that electorates aren't homogeneous, in that there is a fair bit of variation within each electorate - so this chart wont tell the complete and comprehensive story, but merely the broad political story of which seats are getting the best end of the stimulus stick.

Along with promised building spend on every NSW North Coast school and money that may be flowing through from additional funding for regional and community infrastructure and roads, this has to be one of the best 'catch-up' financial years our combined communities have experienced if we are willing to get in there and fight for our fair share.

Let us hope that Kevin Rudd does not let the NSW Government distribute the proceeds from this second stimulus package in such a way that it starves rural and regional areas in order to feed the hungry maws of the big NSW metropolitan areas.

In Living Memory exhibition, 5 February - 1 March 2009 Ballina [ATSI community note this post may contain images of people who are no longer living]

The In Living Memory photographic exhibition is now on at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery, 44 Cherry Street, Ballina.

In Living Memory features images from a series of 1000 black and white photographs from the official records of the former NSW Aborigines Welfare Board. Most of the photographs were taken to document the work of the Board and to promote its policies. The exhibition also includes images taken during the exhibition consultation process by renowned Indigenous photographer Mervyn Bishop.

In Living Memory addresses the photographs as living records with compelling histories and powerful connections to the present. The exhibition is helping to create a new purpose and place for the photographs within contemporary Indigenous life.

Some of the images on display are from the NSW North Coast area.

The exhibition will be open between 10am to 4pm, Wednesday through to Sunday each week.
The Gallery can be contacted on (02) 6681 6167 to make group bookings to see the exhibition

Photograph was found at The Far North Coaster online magazine.

More grief for 'Truffles' Turnbull

Last Sunday morning during the ABC Insiders program Chris Uhlmann referred to 'Truffles' Turnbull as having "strapped himself to the tracks in front of the gravy train", because of his somewhat silly threat to block the Rudd Government second stimulus package in Parliament when it was obvious to everyone that he couldn't possiblely mount the numbers on this one (indeed it passed through the House Of Reps and is on its way to a Senate vote in the next few days).

But Mal has other PR worries as well this week:
"Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says he is not the only politician to receive campaign funds from a controversial American billionaire.
Mr Turnbull received $76,000 from Fortress Investment Group director Peter Briger, to help fund the campaign for the Sydney seat of Wentworth, The Sun-Herald has reported.
Mr Turnbull previously held shares in the company associated with predatory lending practices in the United States, but offloaded them in 2007.
When asked if he would re-pay the money, Mr Turnbull told Network Ten: "You could well ask that same question of President (Barack) Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton because Peter Briger was a prominent supporter and donor to both their campaigns."
According to The Sun-Herald, Fortress is referred to as a "vulture company" because it preys on vulnerable businesses and debtors and picks over financial carcasses....."

This is not the first time Peter Briger has donated to the Libs - in 2007 he gave $51, 000 to the Liberal Party in NSW, but nothing to the other major parties.
And, guess what, Mal me old china?
Yep, you appear to be the only Aussie pollie to directly get money from this Yankee billionnaire and former Goldman Sachs shareholder (along with yourself).

In February 2007 The Street.com said of Briger and other Fortress directors/shareholders (and presumably Malcolm Turnbull):
"When it comes to hedge fund company Fortress Investments(FIG Quote - Cramer on FIG - Stock Picks), one thing's for sure: Chief executive Wesley Edens and the other principals didn't get where they are today by leaving money on the table.
Fortress went public two weeks ago and doubled in price on the first day. But what investors may not realize is that the five principals pretty much stripped the company clean just before the IPO.
I don't mean they cleaned up the balance sheet. I mean they cleaned out the vault. Page five of the prospectus shows they withdrew $446.9 million from the company in "cash distributions" last year.
Plus another $409 million in January.
They collected a further $888 million on Jan. 17 by selling a small stake to Japanese bank Nomura(NMR Quote - Cramer on NMR - Stock Picks).
Oh yes, and they pocketed a further $22.8 million in the final weeks before this month's IPO.
A table buried on page 94 of the prospectus shows the remarkable facts. Between January 2005 and this month's IPO, the five principals of Fortress -- Edens, Peter Briger, Robert Kauffman, Randal Nardone and Michael Novogratz -- cashed out $1.04 billion. "That does not include the Nomura transaction," adds company spokeswoman Lilly Donohue.
Total withdrawn in the two years before they took it public: $1.9 billion. Most of that was in the final few months.
This isn't just every penny that the company earned over that period -- it's a lot more. By the time the owners opened the doors to the investing public this month, the company wasn't just out of cash -- it had negative book value. Liabilities actually exceeded assets by $507 million........"

Fortress Investment Group key executives as of 6 February 2009.